Teresa of Ávila

Teresa of Ávila reformed the Carmelite order and became one of the first women named a Doctor of the Church. Her gift is psychological and warm: she describes the inner life from the inside, in vivid images — a garden to be watered, a crystal castle of seven rooms.

For Teresa, prayer is not a technique but a relationship: 'mental prayer, in my opinion, is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.'

The soul, she says, is not a place we travel to but an inner world where God already lives, at the very center. To pray is to turn inward — recogimiento, recollection — gathering our scattered powers and resting with the Friend who is already there.